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It took detectives over two decades to find that two killers were involved in Michella Welch and Jennifer Bastian's 1986 cold murder case. Both girls Michella, 12, and Jennifer, 13 were murdered under similar circumstances within months of each other in Tacoma, Washington, while they were out on bike rides.
Decades later, due to the endless efforts of Detective Lindsey Wade, the cold cases were solved with the aid of technological advancements. Male DNA evidence was found on both the victims' bodies, which linked two individuals, namely Gary Hartman and Robert Washburn to the killings. Both suspects were arrested in 2018.
According to The Cinemaholic, Robert pleaded guilty in 2019 to Jennifer's murder and was sentenced to 26-and-a-half years in prison while Gary was convicted of Michella's killing last year. The latter was convicted of first-degree murder and handed a similar sentence.
Oxygen's Dateline: Secrets Uncovered chronicles the murders of Michella Welch and Jennifer Bastian in an episode titled Evil Was Watching.
The synopsis reads:
"The 1986 murders of Michella Welch and Jenni Bastian in Tacoma, Wash., remained unsolved for decades until someone else their age grew up to become a detective and looked into their deaths."
The upcoming episode airs on the channel this Tuesday, July 4, at 9:00 pm ET.
Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of child abuse. Readers' discretion is advised.
Two different DNA samples were found from Michella Welch's body and Jennifer Bastian's swimsuit
The identical circumstances surrounding the murders of Michella Welch and Jennifer Bastian caused people to believe that the crimes were committed by the same person.
Michella, 12, was found beaten and s*xually assaulted with her throat slashed. She rode to Puget Park on her bike in March 1986 with her two younger sisters when she went missing and her body was found that same night.
Five months later in August of that same year, 13-year-old Jennifer went missing after riding her bike to Point Defiance Park not far from where Michella was attacked. It was later reported that she had been murdered and her remains were found after a prolonged search three weeks later. She had been s*xually assaulted and strangled to death.
During the initial stages of the investigation, detectives collected DNA from bodily fluids found on Michella's body but failed to find similar samples from Jennifer's body given the decomposed state of the corpse when it was found. The sample collected from the former's body failed to produce results or did not match anyone on the FBI's national database.
More about the subsequent DNA findings
Michella Welch and Jennifer Bastian's cases eventually went cold until 2009 when Tacoma Detective Lindsey Wade, who was only 11 years old when the killings occurred, re-opened the cases. In 2013, the detective collected a different DNA sample from Jennifer's swimsuit.
According to NBC News, the suit wasn't tested earlier because detectives assumed it was removed before the crime was committed. Wade described the finding as "a shocker" while also calling it "a big turning point in the investigation" because both DNA samples found on the victims were different. A search for not one but two culprits began after officials learned that they had been wrong for nearly three decades.
The investigation continued for five additional years as detectives utilized advancing DNA technologies such as Snapshot Genetic Geneology with the assistance of Parabon Nanolabs.
According to a Parabon Nanolabs report, Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell stated:
"Genetic genealogy uses DNA technology to identify subjects by matching the unknown profile to a family member. Traditional genealogy is then used to build a family tree from publicly available websites."
Gary Hartman and Robert Washburn were arrested in Michella Welch and Jennifer Bastian's murders after three decades
Genetic matches found on GEDmatch were then used to build family trees using both samples, thus identifying two potential suspects - Gary Hartman and Robert Washburn.
The Cinemaholic reported that in 2017, the FBI approached Robert in connection with Jennifer Bastian's murder. He willingly offered his DNA for further tests and was then linked to the murder after the samples matched. Meanwhile, Gary was placed under surveillance and detectives had to obtain his DNA sample stealthily from a used napkin, which also proved to be a match.
Both men were then arrested for the murders more than three decades later. Robert Washburn pleaded guilty in 2019 and was sentenced to 26-and-a-half years in prison. Gary Hartman was convicted of first-degree murder by a judge during a bench trial and given a similar sentence.
Michella Welch and Jennifer Bastian's killings are set to feature on Oxygen's Dateline: Secrets Uncovered this Tuesday.
